Altered Zones

[Right to left: Michael Stasiak, Molly Hamilton, and Robert Earl Thomas of Widowspeak. Photo by Sebastian Slayter]

By Michael Pollock

Widowspeak: "Nightcrawlers"

Last July, drummer Michael Stasiak brought guitarist Robert Earl Thomas to Molly Hamilton's Brooklyn apartment for their first practice as Widowspeak. The result was a mildly psychedelic and country western take on the '50s rock and roll ballad, carried by Molly's slow, sometimes pained, always beautiful voice. Their new self-titled album on Captured Tracks, recorded with Woods drummer Jarvis Taveniere at Rear House, is full of dark melodies and devoid of lo-fi or synthesized effects. It's nothing new, but it feels fresh in a scene that bounces from destroyed and warped to ambient without even a pause in between.

Even in one year, an evolution is apparent. In September 2010, they released an EP on Michael's tape label, Wack Slacks Tapes, then two seven-inch singles at the beginning of this year. The difference between the tape's "Yellow Light" and the song that it became on the album, "Half Awake," is striking. The former is textbook Brooklyn bedroom: static-covered vocals, echoing drums, and thin guitar riffs. The latter is fleshed-out rather than washed-out, with a solid rhythm section of layered guitar and organ that allows Rob to hook his way through the song like a surfer-gone-country.

I had a couple drinks last week with Molly and Rob to talk about the evolution of their sound and music and movies that have influenced them.

AZ: What kind of set-up do you guys use for recording?

Molly: We recorded the tape in tracks but on a MacBook. It was so easy and gave the tape the right sound and mood-- the right amount of garage buzz. And all those songs were rougher and darker. For the LP, we wanted to turn up the fidelity. I love '90s pop, and not in an ironic way. People in our generation grew up on it. It’s clear-- crystal clear. There is no reverb. It is awesome. People are singing non-ironically.

AZ: Do you think there is a difference between some of the earlier tracks on the LP, like "Harsh Realm," and some of the newer ones, like “Fir Coat?”

Molly: Most of the record is very much a Fall/Winter album, but some of the songs were written in the Spring. The warm weather just makes me happier. "Fir Coat" was one of those. The first version was way faster, but Michael and I thought it sounded too much like Death Cab and other Northwest bands, so we slowed it down to make it fit in with the rest of the record.

Widowspeak: "Harsh Realm"

AZ: Why made you decide to put a Chris Isaak cover on the b-side of the "Gun Shy" 7"?

Molly: We were talking about The Cranberries and doing a cover of "Linger." We were almost going to play it at a show but O'Riordan’s range is a little too much for me.

Rob: And it was a little too mall rock for me.

Molly: Hey, I love that shit. Honestly, we would do an Indigo Girls cover if I had my way. I'm kidding, but I'm almost not. But I was in my room alone around Thanksgiving. It's super depressing and I'm watching Wild at Heart and I'm like, "Ugh, David Lynch, this is all I have." I was homesick and he’s from Washington too, sort of. Then [Isaak's] "Wicked Game" comes on, and I keep playing that scene over and over again-- the one with the car crash.

Rob: We liked the song but I think we choose it because it fit our sound.

Molly: It is country-influenced but it is not a country song. I like the tempo and the creepiness. It's not a happy song. It's slow and weird and there is the Wicked Witch of the West and flaming clothes and Nick Cage being a stone fox.

Rob: On top of that, I think we were able to interweave her vocals with my guitar. A sort of back-and-forth-- like my guitar is sort of masculine and her vocals are sort of feminine.

Molly: And it's a song that is set up the way our band is set up—there are two guitars parts and a drum. And it works well with “Gun Shy.” They are friends, they want to be together. They both have a western feel to them.

Rob: We also talked a lot about Ennio Morricone, the guy who did the Spaghetti Western soundtracks.

Molly: And the soundtrack to Days of Heaven, which is my favorite movie of all time.

Widowspeak: "Gun Shy"

AZ: Can you describe how you write songs?

Molly: At first I wrote three songs. They had lyrics, they had melodies, and they had guitar chords. Then I realized that Rob has a mind of his own.

Rob: Thank you. I feel like most times Molly brings in a chord structure and maybe it's only one or two parts. She definitely has a melody in mind but is hesitant about it. Then we'll play what Michael and I came up with. Then she'll see if that goes with she has in her mind. Molly definitely brings in a nugget but then there is a lot of back-and-forth, back-and-forth.

AZ: Rob, how do you approach guitar playing?

Rob: I like to look at it as self-contained. It's not like I'm hovering around the other parts. It needs its own sense of movement, its own sense of orchestration. And it needs to be complimentary to the way Molly’s vocals are moving.

AZ: What was your first practice like?

Molly: Michael was really pushing for me to make this a garage band at first. He was sending me tracks of all these '60s garage bands. We always talked about how much we both liked The Sonics.

Rob: I think Michael and I thought we were going to have a '60s approach to '50s music.

Molly: But as for direct influences, I think originally I wanted it to be a dreamier, country sort of sound. I remember I tried to get Michael to let us cover the Carter Family.

Rob: He [Michael] played that Link Wray song every time we practiced. Every time we played, it was "Rumble." Each of us has our own specific musical influences, but I think as a group, we are very influenced by nonmusical influences. We are really into atmosphere and mood.

Molly: Maybe that's because we butt heads so much when it comes to influences: Rob wants to have his jam sessions, and I'm very contained, and Michael wants to be in a punk band.

Rob: For the record, I want to be in a '70s glam rock band. But when you explain anything, it's always accompanied by, "It’s like sitting in a car," or "It’s like that slow dance in high school, remember?"

Molly: I do anthropomorphize the songs; I give them personalities.

Rob: But that's cool. It's like watching a movie or reading a book.

Molly: We have to resort to other things, like memories. Honestly, I think we come off as nostalgic.

Rob: It gives you the same feeling that nostalgia does. It’s more of sense memory than a specific thing.

Molly: I think we pull from too many places to sound like any particular time period.

Rob: We really like that Buddy Holly song, "You’re So Square." It's such a pure sentiment, and I think that is very similar to the way you [Molly writes] songs. Then Michael and I have this aesthetic preference: he loves the '60s, and I love the '70s with fat-ass guitar hooks. It's a weird come-together.

Widowspeak LP is out now on Captured Tracks. Visit the band's MySpace for upcoming North American tourdates